Coconut Shell Charcoals

Many people already knew that charcoals are made from smoking wood chops, but in the cuisine world, coconut shell charcoals are more preferred to grill foods, and this is not a common knowledge. On a field at Jl Lodan, North Jakarta, 46 years old Musa and his business associates 'cooks' charcoals of coconut shells. The charcoals are mostly used for grilling seafoods, because it is believed that the aroma would be more flavorful than being grilled on wood charcoals.The time for toasting the shells could take almost a day. The shells are collected from traditional markets, then being smoked in a big canister. After 12 hours, they sift the shells. The sifting is for separating the charcoals from the unburned shells, which need to be smoked again, and for cooling them down. The charcoals then are placed in a sack, ready to be sold. A sack contains 20 kg of charcoals, each is sold for Rp 4,000.In a day, Musa and his two partners, they all are originated from Jakarta, could produce 30 sacks of charcoal. Ramadhan, or the Moslem's fasting month, is the peak season for these charcoal sellers. After substracting the operational cost and kiosk leasing fee, Musa could receive Rp 1.2 million and Rp 700,000 for each of his partners in a month. For them, it is enough money to be grateful for.